Market-Garden: Just Grass
In September of 1944, the German army in the Netherlands found itself in disarray. Only four short months prior, the Allies had stormed the beaches of Normandy, their relentless advance carving through France and now Belgium with an alarming haste. The recent capture of Antwerp, Europe’s second-largest port, brought them close to the Dutch border. […]
In Bruges
https://youtu.be/5mw6VCdR-LA In the flat plains of West Flanders, Belgium, Bruges was our first travel destination as expats in the Netherlands. We had been together a few years ago and while it is a town to enjoy as unencumbered adults, it was also a place that we were excited to show our kids someday. So when […]
The Move
I don’t know where our dog or our seven bags are but the line into passport control is quick only because we waited twenty minutes for the ground crew to fish out our stroller from the plane that we thought we needed given the six hour layover we were about to endure. We just got […]
A New Chapter
It was an overcast day as typical of Rotterdam in the fall. Philip Jacob Bretz stood on the dock with dozens of other migrants, their belongings all scattered about them, ready to board the Solomon Saltus for the six week sail to New York City. They had work ahead. Hard work. Jacob looked down at […]
Part IV – Cristobol
https://youtu.be/Hwf9ITBf3s0 The metal of the long steel prep table was cold on Stanley’s outstretched hands. He looked down at them and around the galley. The large tins of spices. The gallon cans of beans, boxes of potatoes, giant jugs of olive oil. It was the third day of the quarantine on the USAT Cristobol which still stood […]
Part III – Going to War
https://vidacolorado.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Part-III-Going-to-War.mp4 Letters Home – Part III – Going to War As we stood over Granny’s bed in the hospice room we knew she didn’t have much time. Her body was frail, she had not been eating or drinking for days. The Lord was calling her home. Next to her bed, a shoebox and a second […]
